The night burned red.
Renga Kagutsuchi stood frozen for a heartbeat, his chest rising and falling like a storm tide. His eyes, wide with anguish, were fixed on the sight before him—Akane, his beloved, trembling in Haruto's arms. Her kimono was soaked with blood, her lips pale, her breaths shallow. And beside her, Haruto's tear-streaked face twisted in a scream of grief and rage.
Something inside Renga snapped.
The flames around his feet stirred first, flickering as though they, too, could feel his rage. His grip tightened on his battered katana, the steel trembling under the pressure. His shoulders quaked, not with weakness, but with the weight of fury. His eyes, usually calm and resolute, blazed now with something raw and unrestrained.
The High Rank Demon tilted its monstrous head, a grin splitting its grotesque face. "Ahhh… I see. You bleeds inside. Precious little humans—so fragile, so easily broken. And yet, the scene infront of me… delicious." Its single golden eye gleamed, hungry for despair.
Renga's body shuddered. He gritted his teeth, blood spilling from the corner of his lips. But he didn't wipe it. His voice broke through the roar of flames—low at first, then rising like a storm.
"How… dare you."
His eyes snapped toward the demon, blazing crimson in the firelight.
"How dare you…" His body shook, his flames roared. "How dare you touch my family. You've taken from me the most precious person of my life—my flame, my heart. She is my life!"
The earth trembled as fire burst outward in a violent surge, surrounding him like a living inferno. His katana ignited fully, not with sparks but with blazing arcs that curved through the night like wings of wrath. The ground beneath him cracked, molten heat spreading in fissures.
The High Rank Demon licked its fangs, amused, though its body tensed. "YES…! That's it! Rage, despair, hate—burn yourself to ash for me! Show me if a dying ember can truly blaze!"
Renga lifted his blade, fire swirling around him. The air distorted with the heat, the forest trees swaying violently as embers rained like sparks from a forge. His cough rattled his chest, but he pushed it down, burying it beneath a firestorm of will.
"Haruto," Renga said without turning. His voice was steel, edged with sorrow. "Stay there with your mother. Do not look away."
And then—
The demon lunged first, claws tearing through the ground in black streaks of shadow. Its Dark Demonic Art erupted—a surge of writhing tendrils made from solidified darkness, twisting like serpents to bind and shred. The earth seemed to rot where they passed, soil blackening, plants withering instantly.
Renga dashed forward, fire erupting beneath his feet. His katana slashed in a blazing crescent.
"Flame Arts — First Technique: Scarlet Slash!"
The blade cut through tendrils in an arc of searing crimson, igniting the darkness until it dissolved into ash. Sparks and shadows collided, exploding into shockwaves that rattled the treeline.
The demon appeared above him in a blink, claws raised like scythes. "Fall, human!"
Renga twisted, exhaling, thrusting his katana forward like a blazing fang.
"Flame Arts — Second Technique: Burning Fang!"
The sword became a lance of fire, piercing upward. The strike met claw mid-swing, a deafening boom splitting the night. The shockwave blew soil and ash into the air, fire and shadow clashing violently. Sparks fell like stars around them.
The demon snarled, forcing down with raw strength. "You resist well… for a dying man!"
Renga coughed blood but spun, katana tracing a circle of flame around him.
"Flame Arts — Third Technique: Flame Cyclone!"
The cyclone erupted, flames spiraling outward in a vortex. The pressure flung the demon back, its body scorched, its laughter echoing even through the roar.
"Yes! More!" it howled, its claws glowing black as they absorbed shadow. "Demonic Art — Abyssal Rend!"
The demon slashed, and a crescent of pure shadow energy screamed toward Renga, tearing trees in half as it flew. The sky itself seemed to split.
Renga planted his foot, swinging with every ounce of strength. His katana, burning bright crimson, carved through the black wave. The collision birthed an explosion that split the ground apart, sending Haruto tumbling back as he shielded Akane with his body.
The battlefield was fire and ruin. Flames clung to the earth like molten rivers. Shadows twisted like living beasts. The night was alive with chaos.
Renga pressed forward, his katana flashing in rapid arcs, sparks flying as steel clashed with claw. The High Rank moved with monstrous speed, each strike shaking the ground, gouging craters into the soil. But Renga met each one, fire roaring louder with every breath.
Slash, block, counter. Step, thrust, parry. Their strikes blurred into a storm of crimson flame and black abyss, neither yielding.
The demon grinned wider, though burns covered its arms, chest, and face. "YES! Struggle harder! Burn brighter! Let your fire consume you—before I tear it out!"
Renga's body trembled. His arms felt like lead, blood dripping from his nose and mouth. But his eyes—his eyes did not waver. Each strike carried not only strength, but love, grief, fury. The will of a man who would not allow his family's sacrifice to be in vain.
The demon lunged, both claws descending like twin guillotines. The ground shattered beneath its weight, shadow tendrils erupting outward like spikes.
Renga roared, katana blazing. He slashed upward, fire surging like a tidal wave. The claws met blade—shockwaves burst outward. The ground cratered. Trees disintegrated into cinders. The sky itself glowed red as fire clashed with shadow.
"Flame Arts — Second Technique: Burning Fang!"
He thrust, the fiery point of his katana piercing through the demon's guard. Black blood hissed as it struck flesh, but claws raked across his shoulder in return, nearly tearing muscle from bone.
Both were pushed back. Renga stumbled, coughing blood violently, his katana shaking. The demon too slid backward, smoke rising from its burned flesh, its grin faltering for the first time.
It looked down at its scorched chest, then back at Renga. That golden eye narrowed—not with amusement now, but with the faintest flicker of unease.
"You…" the demon muttered, voice quieter, heavier. "…You should be dead already. Yet you still burn."
Renga's breath came ragged, his knees threatening to buckle. But his flames surged higher, his will unbroken. He straightened, katana steady, his voice carrying across the clearing.
"My fire… will not die until my son lives. Until my wife breathes. Until humanity stands safe."
The demon snarled, anger boiling. Its body pulsed, markings glowing blood-red. "Then DIE in despair! Demonic Art — Abyssal Cataclysm!"
A vortex of darkness exploded from its body, a dome of writhing tendrils and crushing force. The night itself seemed swallowed whole.
Renga closed his eyes briefly, just for a moment. And in that instant—he saw Akane's smile. Haruto's laugh. The warmth of standing with them in a flower field long ago when Haruto was four years old, petals dancing in the wind. The memory burned brighter than pain.
His eyes snapped open, blazing like twin suns. He raised his katana, fire erupting around him—not in a storm, but in the majestic shape of wings. A great phoenix of flame spread across the night sky, its cry echoing like the roar of a thousand furnaces.
"Flame Arts — Tenth Technique: Eternal Flame!"
He dashed forward, faster than sight, flames consuming him like a living comet. The phoenix soared with him, wings blazing as it dove.
The demon roared, hurling its abyss forward. Shadow and flame collided, the two forces tearing at each other, screaming into the heavens. The ground cracked open, shockwaves flattening the forest. Firestorms and black lightning spiraled outward, scorching and crushing everything in their path.
The clash raged—phoenix tearing into abyss, shadow devouring fire. But slowly, surely, the phoenix pushed forward, its wings consuming the darkness, its flames roaring hotter with each heartbeat.
The demon's single golden eye widened. For the first time—it felt fear.
"No—! Impossible—!"
Renga roared, his body breaking, blood gushing from his mouth, but his spirit unyielding. "FOR MY FAMILY!"
The phoenix screamed, bursting forward. Fire consumed shadow, wings engulfing the demon. The abyss shattered, torn apart. And the blade—Renga's blade—carved through the demon's chest, erupting in a pillar of fire that reached the heavens.
The night exploded into light.
The dust settled slowly.
The demon staggered, half its body seared away, its golden eye flickering weakly. It stumbled back, its grin gone, its voice a rasp. "…That fire… should have died long ago…"
And then—it collapsed into ash, scattered on the night wind.
The battlefield was silent now. The flames that had once roared like an inferno were fading, dwindling into embers that floated in the night air. Smoke curled upward from the charred earth, carrying with it the acrid stench of blood and ash.
Renga stood at the center of the devastation, his katana buried in the earth, flames still crackling faintly around him. His body trembled, bleeding from countless wounds. His vision swam, as though the world itself were breaking apart.
Still… he forced his legs forward.
His boots dragged through the ash as he staggered toward the only thing that mattered—the small figure of Haruto, kneeling in the soot, cradling Akane's fragile, bloodied body. The boy's sobs echoed through the ruined valley, raw and piercing, a sound that tore deeper into Renga's chest than any demon's claws.
"F-Father…" Haruto's voice cracked when he saw him approach.
Akane stirred faintly at the sound. Her eyelids, heavy as stone, lifted slowly. Her gaze, blurred but still soft, fell on Renga as he stumbled closer.
Renga dropped to his knees beside them. The ground struck hard, but he barely felt it. His katana slipped from his hand, clattering into the dirt as blood spilled from his lips in a violent cough. His vision blurred further, the world shaking, but he reached out with trembling arms.
Gently—so gently, as though she might break—he took Akane into his embrace. Her warmth was faint, fading, yet to him it was everything. His forehead pressed against hers, his body trembling uncontrollably as tears burned in his eyes.
"Akane…" his voice broke, hoarse, almost unrecognizable. His vision swam red and black, but he could still see her—his wife, pale and bloodied, lying in their son's arms.
"…Renga…" Her lips curved faintly, though her voice was barely more than breath.
Tears blurred his sight as he pressed his forehead to hers. "I'm here… I'm here, Akane. Forgive me. I—I couldn't…" His words broke into a cough, blood spilling from his lips.
Her hand, trembling, rose and touched his cheek. "Don't… blame yourself. You've… always protected us. Even now."
"Mother—!" Haruto's cry cracked, his small body trembling as he clung to her sleeve.
Akane's gaze shifted toward her son. Even as her breath grew shallow, her eyes softened with infinite warmth. "Haruto… my sweet boy. Don't cry.… Live… live on. Be strong… for us.... protect the light of humanity, just as your father did. Carry his fire, my son… Do not let fear chain you — be the flame that shields others."
"I can't!" Haruto sobbed, clutching harder. "Please… please don't leave me—!"
Renga's chest heaved as he tried to steady his failing breath. His tears fell freely, hot and unrelenting. He turned his face back to hers, forcing a trembling smile through the grief.
"You were… my light, Akane. My home. I don't… I don't want to let you go."
Her lips quivered, but she smiled faintly. "You… already gave me everything. A life… a son… love." Her voice faltered. "If… if I could live it all again… I would choose you. Always."
Her eyes lingered on his face for one last time. And then—slowly—her lids grew heavy, her hand slipping from his cheek.
"Akane… Akane!" Renga's voice cracked, his whole body trembling as he clutched her tighter.
"Mother!" Haruto wailed, shaking her limp hand.
Renga's vision blurred entirely, his body swaying. His strength was nearly gone—he could feel it slipping away. He bent down, pressing a kiss to her cooling forehead, and then looked at his son.
"Haruto…" His voice was faint, but his eyes burned with desperate resolve. "Remember… life is fragile. But you—you can make it burn bright. Promise me..... You will fulfill.... Your.... Parent's last wish.... Protect Humans .... Fight against demons."
Haruto shook his head violently, his face soaked in tears. "Don't say that! Please… don't leave me! I still need you!"
Renga's hand, trembling, found Haruto's shoulder. His grip was weak but full of meaning. "You already… carry my flame. You already… make me proud." A tear slid down his scarred cheek. "No father… could ask for more."
His breath rattled, slower, heavier. His vision dimmed, but before it slipped entirely, he pulled Akane closer to his chest and drew Haruto into the embrace.
"Thank you… for giving me this life…" he whispered, his voice barely audible. "Akane… Haruto… my world."
His lips curved into the faintest, peaceful smile.
And with that… his breath fell still.
The clearing was silent, save for Haruto's cries—raw, broken, echoing into the night sky.
To be Continued...